Up to The Presidents

Just how deeply will the U.S. and Russia cut their arsenals?

ARMS-CONTROL TALKS BETWEEN RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Boris Yeltsin and President Bush this week serve as a reminder that both countries still have thousands of warheads in their nuclear stockpiles. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which the Senate will debate later this month, cuts warheads 30% for both sides. Bush has already proposed further reductions to 4,700 warheads, and Yeltsin trumped this by suggesting 2,500 on each side.

The stumbling block is U.S. insistence that the Russians scrap their entire post-START arsenal of 154 land-based SS-18 missiles, each of which carries 10 warheads. Yeltsin demands as a quid pro quo that the U.S....

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!